Part 16 (2/2)
”5. We are necessitated from our present necessity to do this, and we hope that our actions will justify us in the gate, when all men shall know the truth of our necessity:
”We are in Wellinborrow in one parish 1169 persons that receive alms, as the Officers have made it appear at the Quarter Sessions last. We have made our case known to the Justices; the Justices have given order that the Town should raise a stock to set us on work, and that the Hundred should be enjoyned to a.s.sist them. But as yet we see nothing is done, nor any man that goeth about it. We have spent all we have; our trading is decayed; our wives and children cry for bread; our lives are a burden to us, divers of us having 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 in family, and we cannot get bread for one of them by our labor. Rich men's hearts are hardened; they will not give us if we beg at their doors. If we steal, the Law will end our lives. Divers of the poor are starved to death already; and it were better for us that are living to die by the Sword than by the Famine. And now we consider that the Earth is our Mother; and that G.o.d hath given it to the children of men; and that the Common and Waste Grounds belong to the poor; and that we have a right to the common ground both from the Law of the Land, Reason and Scriptures.
Therefore we have begun to bestow our righteous labor upon it, and we shall trust the Spirit for a blessing upon our labor, resolving not to dig up any man's propriety until they freely give us it. And truly we have great comfort already through the goodness of our G.o.d, that some of those rich men amongst us that have had the greatest profit upon the Common have freely given us their share in it ... and the country farmers have profered, divers of them, to give us seed to sow it; and so we find that G.o.d is persuading j.a.phet to dwell in the tents of Shem. And truly those that we find most against us are such as have been constant enemies to the Parliament Cause from first to last.
”Now at last our desire is, That some that approve of this work of Righteousness would but spread this our Declaration before the great Council of the Land; that so they may be pleased to give us more encouragement to go on; that so they may be found amongst the small number of those that consider the poor and needy; that so the Lord may deliver them in the time of their troubles ... and our lives shall bless them, so shall good men stand by them, and evil men shall be afraid of them, and they shall be counted the Repairers of our Breaches, and the Restorers of our Paths to dwell in. And thus we have declared the truth of our necessity, and whosoever will come in to labor with us, shall have part with us, and we with them, and we shall all of us endeavour to walk righteously and peaceably in the Land of our Nativity.
”Richard Smith, John Avery, Thomas Fardin, Richard Pendred, James Pitman, Roger Tuis, Joseph Hitchc.o.c.k, John Pye, Edward Turner.
_March 12th, 1649 (1650)._”
By some means or other this Declaration seems to have reached the Council of State; for we find the following reference to it in Whitelocke, p. 448, under date April:
”A Letter sent from the Diggers and Planters of Commons for Universal Freedom, to make the Earth a Common Treasury, that everyone may enjoy food and raiment freely by his labor upon the Earth, without paying Rents or Homage to any Fellow Creature of his own kind, that everyone may be delivered from the Tyranny of the Conquering Power, and so rise up out of that Bondage to enjoy the Benefit of his Creation.
”The Letters were to get money to buy food for them, and corn to sow the land which they had digged.”
Presently we shall lay some evidence before our readers of the view the Council of State, influenced as it was by men who had recently enriched themselves by land-grabbing, took of such proceedings, the trend of which they fully recognised. However, whatever view the Council of State were likely to take of this touching Declaration, there can be little doubt but that it appealed most strongly to Winstanley, who within a fortnight of its issue, on March 26th, replied to it in the following high-spirited, almost triumphal, address, which also appeared in the form of a broadsheet:[153:1]
”AN APPEAL TO ALL ENGLISHMEN TO JUDGE BETWEEN BONDAGE AND FREEDOM: Sent from those that began to dig upon George Hill in Surrey, but now are carrying on that public work upon the little heath in the Parish of Cobham, near unto George Hill, wherein it appears that the work of Digging upon the Commons is not only warranted by Scripture, but by the Law of the Common-wealth of England likewise.
”Behold, behold all Englishmen, The Land of England now is your free inheritance: all Kingly and Lordly entanglements are declared against by our Army and Parliament. The Norman Power is beaten in the field, and his head is cut off. And that oppressing Conquest, that hath reigned over you by King and House of Lords, for about 600 years past, is now cast out by the Armies' Swords, the Parliament's Acts and Laws, and the Common-wealth's Engagement.
”Therefore let not sottish covetousness in the Gentry deny the poor or younger bretheren their just Freedom to build and plant corn upon the common waste land; nor let slavish fear possess the heart of the poor to stand in fear of the Norman yoke any longer, seeing that it is broke. Come, those that are free within, turn your Swords into Ploughshares, and Spears into Pruning Hooks, and take Plow and Spade, and break up the Common Land, build your houses, sow corn and take possession of your own Land, which you have recovered out of the hands of the Norman oppressor.
”The common Land hath laid unmanured all the days of his Kingly and Lordly power over you, by reason whereof both you and your fathers (many of you) have been burthened with poverty. And that land which would have been fruitful with corn, hath brought forth nothing but heath, moss, turfeys, and the curse, according to the words of the Scriptures: A fruitful land is made barren because of the unrighteousness of the people that ruled therein, and would not suffer it to be planted, because they would keep the poor under bondage, to maintain their own Lordly Power and conquering covetousness.
”But what hinders you now? Will you be Slaves and Beggars still when you may be Freemen? Will you live in straits and die in poverty when you may live comfortably? Will you always make a profession of the words of Christ and Scripture, the sum whereof is this--Do as you would be done unto, and live in love? And now it is come to the point of fulfilling that Righteous Law, will you not rise up and act? I do not mean act by the Sword, for that must be left. But come, take plow and spade, build and plant, and make the waste land fruitful, that there may be no beggar or idle person among you. For if the waste land of England were manured by her children, it would become in a few years the richest, the strongest, and the most flouris.h.i.+ng Land in the world, and all Englishmen would live in peace and comfort. And this Freedom is hindered by such as yet are full of the Norman base blood, who would be Free-men themselves, but would have all others bond-men and servants, nay Slaves to them....
”Well Englishmen, the Law of the Scriptures gives you a free and full warrant to plant the Earth, and to live comfortably and in love, doing as you would be done by, and condemns that covetous kingly and lordly power of darkness in men, that makes some men seek their freedom in the Earth and deny others that freedom. And the Scriptures do establish this Law, to cast out kingly and lordly self-willed and oppressing power, and to make every Nation in the World a Free Common-wealth. So that you have the Scriptures to protect you in making the Earth a Common Treasury for the comfortable livelihood of your bodies, while you live upon Earth.
”Secondly, you have both what the Army and the Parliament have done to protect you.... Our Common-wealth's Army have fought against the Norman Conquest, and have cast him out, and keeps the field.... And by this victory England is made a Free Common-wealth; and the common land belongs to the younger brother, as the enclosures to the elder brother, without restraint.... The Parliament since this victory have made an Act or Law to make England a Free Common-wealth. And by this Act they have set the people free from King and House of Lords that ruled as conquerors over them, and have abolished their self-will and murdering Laws with them that made them. Likewise they have made another Act or Law, to cast out Kingly Power, wherein they free the people from yielding obedience to the King, or to any that holds claiming under the King. Now all Lords of Manors, Tything Priests and Impropriators hold claiming or t.i.tle under the King, but by this Act of Parliament we are freed from their power.
”Then, lastly, the Parliament have made an engagement to maintain this present Common-wealth's government comprised within those Acts or Laws against King and House of Lords. And called upon all officers, tenants, and all sort of people to subscribe to it, declaring that those that refuse to subscribe shall have no privilege in the Common-wealth of England, nor protection from the Law.
”Now behold all Englishmen, that by virtue of these two Laws and the Engagement, the Tenants of Copyhold are free from obedience to their Lords of Manors, and all poor people may build upon and plant the Commons, and Lords of Manors break the Laws of the Land, and still uphold the Kingly and Lordly Norman Power, if they hinder them, or seek to beat them off from planting the Commons. Nor can the Lords of Manors compel their Tenants of Copyholds to come to their Court Barons, nor to be of their Juries, nor to take an oath to be true to them, nor to pay fines, heriots, quit-rents, nor any homage as formerly while the Kings and Lords were in their power.
And if the Tenants stand up to maintain their freedom against their Lords' oppressing power, the Tenants forfeit nothing, but are protected by the Laws and Engagement of the Land.
”And if so be that any poor men build them houses and sow corn upon the Commons, the Lords of Manors cannot compel their Tenants to beat them off: and if the Tenants refuse to beat them off, they forfeit nothing, but are protected by the Laws and Engagement of the Land. But if so be that any fearful or covetous Tenant do obey their Court Barons, and will be of their Jury, and will still pay fines, heriots, quit-rents, or any homage as formerly, or take new oaths to be true to their Lords, or at the command of their Lords do beat the poor men off from planting the Commons, then they have broke the Engagement and Law of the Land, and both Lords and Tenants are conspiring to uphold or bring in the Kingly or Lordly Power again, and declare themselves to the Army, and to the Parliament, and are Traitors to the Commonwealth of England. And if so be that they are to have no protection of the Law that refused to take the Engagement, surely they have lost their protection by breaking their Engagement, and stand liable to answer for this their offence to their great charge and trouble if any will prosecute against them.
”Therefore you Englishmen, whether Tenants or Labouring-men, do not enter into a new bond of slavery, now you are come to the point that you may be free, if you will but stand up for freedom. For the Army hath purchased your freedom. The Parliament hath declared for your freedom. And all the Laws of the Commonwealth are your protection. So that nothing is wanting on your part but courage and faithfulness to put those Laws in execution, and so take possession of your own Land, which the Norman power took from you and hath kept from you about 600 years, and which you have now recovered out of his hand.
”And if any say that the old Laws and Customs of the Land are against the Tenant and the poor, and ent.i.tle the land only to Lords of Manors still, I answer, all the old Laws are of no force, for they were abolished when the King and House of Lords were cast out.
And if any say, I, but the Parliament made an Act to establish the old Laws, I answer, this was to prevent a sudden rising upon the cutting off the King's head; but afterwards they made these two Laws, to cast out the Kingly Power, and to make England a Common-wealth. And they have confirmed these two by the Engagement, which the people now generally do own and subscribe: Therefore by these Acts of Freedom they have abolished that Act that held up bondage.
”Well, by these you may see your freedom; and we hope the Gentry hereafter will cheat the poor no longer of their Land; and we hope the Ministers hereafter will not tell the poor they have no right to the Land. For now the Land of England is and ought to be a Common Treasury to all Englishmen, as the several portions of the Land of Canaan were the common livelihood to such and such a Tribe, both to elder and younger Brother, without respect of persons. If you do deny this, you deny the Scriptures. And now we shall give you some few encouragements out of many to move you to stand up for your freedom in the Land by acting with plow and spade upon the Commons:
”(1) By this means, within a short time, there will be no beggar or idle person in England, which will be the glory of England, and the glory of that Gospel which England seems to profess in words.
”(2) The waste and common land being improved will bring in plenty of all commodities, and prevent famine, and pull down the price of corn, to 12d. a bushel, or less.
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